Popular Ninth Street bar to add outdoor patio

COLUMBIA — Ninth Street’s roofline between Cherry and Locust streets is taking a new shape courtesy of a rooftop expansion project.

Quinton’s Bar & Deli, 124 S. Ninth St., is adding a second and third level deck to its existing one-story base, according to plans submitted to Columbia’s Division of Protective Inspection. The bar and deli also plans to expand laterally into the adjacent space that was 126 S. Ninth St. A large crane was on site much of the week placing structural beams for the outside deck.

The bar and deli’s move skyward is being closely watched.

“As a community, we have an interest in building up, not out,” said Sixth Ward councilwoman Barbara Hoppe. However, Hoppe cautioned, a wait-and-see approach is needed with the Quinton’s expansion project.

“It should be done in a way that conforms with the downtown business district,” Hoppe said.

Provisions in Columbia's nonsmoking ordinance, which took effect in January, exempt outdoor seating areas, so outdoor patios and decks are options for bar and restaurant owners who want to retain smokers as customers.

Because Quinton’s already has the necessary zoning to expand, the public won’t have an opportunity to comment on addition.

Jim Paneck, the city’s chief building inspector, said the zoning does not place any restriction on a building’s height, and there is no provision for public comment on potential renovations of existing structures.

Quinton’s owner Mike McClung, who was on the construction site Tuesday, declined to comment.